Accounting

Accounting (RW or REWE) is a branch of business administration and is a systematic way, monitoring and informational compaction of the costs associated with the performance process money and power flows.

Firstly, money and goods flows are documented in a company in order to take account of outsiders ( external accounting ) can, for example, in relation to the tax office, banks or public health care payers. On the other accounting but should also provide the data to the business that are necessary for the control and planning of the company ( management accounting ). In the education and vocational training of several German federal states accounting specialist Commercial Management and Control ( KSK ) is taught.

• 2.1 Germany
• 2.2 Switzerland

Areas of accounting

The accounting system is divided into four sections.

External Accounting

The external accounting ( accounting ) is the financial situation of the company to the outside ( financial accounting). Shown is the net worth, financial and earnings position of the company, divided into balance sheet, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement and other instruments that are not necessarily numbers -oriented, such as the appendix and the management report. The legal basis is in Germany the German Commercial Code ( HGB).

• Accounting
• Inventory
• Financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss account and, if necessary, annex)
• Management Report
• Special balance sheets, interim balance sheets, the consolidated financial statements

Management Accounting

The internal accounting (English Management Accounting ), also referred to as a controlling, is engaged in the planning, control and coordination weighted business processes in order to maximize the company's success. The information thus obtained should serve the objective substantiation of management decisions. These are the sources of the success of a company, especially with the help of cost and management accounting and investment accounting, analyzed and converted into a controlling concept.

The internal accounting principle is not tied to the commercial and tax law requirements and disclosure obligations of external accounting, so it can work with different and additional valuation approaches. In addition to different valuation methods for factor prices, different costs are classified under the term imputed costs. Imputed costs can be (including risk) management earnings, depreciation, rent etc. interest. Furthermore, the observation in contrast to the external accounting is predominantly future-oriented, that is, it operates with standard and budgeted values ​​. In general, the components of the overall success will be determined at the level of individual products and services and analyzed.

• Operational accounting ( bookkeeping imputed ) Cost Accounting
• Cost Center Accounting
• Cost Object Controlling
• Short-term income statement ( statement of operations )

Corporate statistics and comparative analysis

• Corporate statistics
• Single Operational comparison Target-actual comparison
• Method comparison
• Time comparison

Budgeting

The planning bill deals with corporate and business -related preview statement under application of economic methods. It is used for decision support for various areas and strategies of the company.

Legal basis of the external accounting

Germany

Most important legal basis for accounting in Germany is required for statutory individual and consolidated financial statements in the Commercial Code (§ § 238 et seq HGBVorlage: § § / Maintenance / juris - side). The recommendations of the German Accounting Standards Committee (DRSC ) are relevant in certain cases under the Group's accounting. The statutory financial statements - drawn up by each merchant - has the function of the design of distribution rights of the owner; the consolidated financial statements has particular information function and serves neither the dividend nor the tax. Furthermore, have traded the Group's parent company based in one of the EU Member States its consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS) to create what these companies are exempt in Germany of the Group accounting according to HGB.

For purposes of the tax have traders who are either merchant according to the Commercial Code or certain size criteria ( under § 141 AO), to create an independent tax accounting, which is based on the individual financial statements according to HGB ( authoritativeness ). Here, next to the German Commercial Code, the provisions of the tax law are observed, in particular the Income Tax Act ( ITA) and the Corporation Tax Law ( Corporate Income Tax Act ) and its relevant regulations seduction.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, accounting at least according to the Code of Obligations (OR) must be made. In order to obtain a greater transparency for investors, the accounting and reporting recommendations were ( FER or Swiss GAAP FER, not to be confused with IFRS ) was introduced as a minimum standard, build up their balance sheets and income statements for the company and members. Especially in Switzerland also the problem of hidden reserves is observed.